The IP Commerce Platform unites software companies, service providers and distributions channels in a new, dynamic environment that negates the need for proprietary, one-to-one connections. Ultimately, these partners use the Platform to become more nimble and responsive to customer needs in today's competitive commerce marketplace, and acquire new customers more quickly and at less cost.

"The IP Commerce Platform takes the pain out of the development and delivery of payment solutions for small businesses," said Chip Kahn, IP Commerce CEO. "By making the process of payment application development more intuitive, everyone involved in the process - from the software company to the distribution channel - can cut costs, increase speed to market, and grow their channel. It gives our partners unprecedented flexibility that's never been seen before in the payments industry."

Before the introduction of the IP Commerce Platform, it was difficult to introduce new commerce solutions in a cost-effective and expedited manner. This was primarily due to the hard costs and technical commitments associated with traditional one-to-one proprietary connections.

Based on the principles of service-oriented architecture (SOA), the Platform's flexible, open environment provides partners with the ability to create new commerce solutions efficiently and securely, and in a scalable fashion that has never been available in the payments industry. Partners leverage their portion of the Platform to custom-configure solutions and channels in a way which best suits their business needs.

IP Commerce partners who integrate to the Platform benefit from:

• Decreased customer acquisition costs
• New revenue streams
• Increased responsiveness to customer needs
• Reduced overhead and spending
• Ability to offer more secure commerce solution choices, which aids in driving PCI-DSS compliance
• More rapid integration and monetization of additional services

Recognizing the growing need for payment applications that properly handle customer data, the IP Commerce Platform software is validated annually for PABP compliance. Supported payment types include bankcard processing, electronic check, ACH, remote deposit capture, and stored value.

Numerous commerce solutions have already been created via the IP Commerce Platform. One such example is POS Prophet Systems, a software company focused on point-of-sale applications, and Chase Paymentech, a global leader in payment services. POS Prophet integrated to the IP Commerce Platform to add credit card processing to its POS Express point-of-sale software. The company's integration to the Platform provided access to service providers, including Chase Paymentech, which POS Prophet chose for its bankcard processing provider. Already experiencing success, POS Prophet is now using that same standards-based technology to add other payment services like remote deposit.

"By developing once to the IP Commerce Platform, we have simplified our development efforts and can now focus on what we do best, providing end-to-end business software solutions," said Rick Robshaw, CEO, POS Prophet Systems. "We now have access to leading service providers like Chase Paymentech, and greater channel opportunities."